Emerging Artists Theatre Opens 2025 Fall Spark Theatre Festival NYC

Today marks the opening of Emerging Artists Theatre’s bi-annual Spark Theatre Festival NYC, running September 8–28, 2025 at The Chain Theatre (312 W 36th St, 3rd Floor). Over the next three weeks, the festival will showcase more than 60 new pieces, ranging from musicals, plays, and solo performances to storytelling, dance, and sketch comedy.

For the first time, the lineup will be presented in two formats—workshop productions and fully produced shows—giving audiences the chance to experience new works at every stage of development.

Tickets are $20–$40. Full schedule and tickets available now.

Week One Highlights

Monday, Sept. 8 at 7pm

• This Used to be a Place Called Kansas (Solo, Full Production)
  Kristopher Victoria stars as Emerson, working his first shift at the first-ever gay bar in his small Texas college town.

• Where the Leaves Fall (Short Play, Full Production)
  Wesley Cappiello’s one-act about a Halloween hookup interrupted by grief, directed by Jacqueline Neeley.

Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7pm

• Yo Taxi (Solo, Workshop)
  Gabriel Castillo’s story of a struggling actor trapped in a cab-driving time loop, directed by Chris McGinn.

Wednesday, Sept. 10 at 7pm

• Five Alarm Tracy (Short Play, Full Production)
  Dan Moretti’s legal drama about ambition and corruption, directed by CB Murray.

• Settling the Score (Short Play, Workshop)
  Raymond Alvin’s tale of confronting a childhood bully 40 years later.

Thursday, Sept. 11 at 7pm

• In Equal Measure (Short Play, Full Production)
  A tragic thriller where revenge collides with family love.

• Arsinoë IV (Short Play, Workshop)
  David Ceci’s historical drama about Cleopatra’s ambitious younger sister.

Friday, Sept. 12 at 7pm

• Dawned (Dance, Full Production)
  Robert Mark Burke’s dance piece with music by Eric Dietz, charting a community’s journey from darkness to light.

• i want them to decide (Dance, Workshop)
  A movement exploration open to audience interpretation.

• A Leaf in the Wind (Short Musical, Full Production)
  Written/directed by Jeffery Chen, with music direction by Cas Royalty. Riley is dead—but still has one last story to tell.

Saturday, Sept. 13 at 2pm

• Spark the Experience (Storytelling, Full Production)
  Tami McCarthy’s ritual of remembrance with spoken word, live painting, and music, directed by Beth Spitalny.

Saturday, Sept. 13 at 5pm

• A Trip to the Top (Short Play, Workshop)
  Mia’s band of twenty-somethings struggle over their first live radio gig.

Saturday, Sept. 13 at 7pm

• rendezvous der Sterne (Dance, Full Production)
  Amélie Parczany sets strangers’ fleeting encounters in a subway world of movement.

• But If We Fall (Dance, Full Production)
  A duet by Rachel Calabrese & Emmy Wildermuth exploring love and loss in real time.

• Scope (Dance, Full Production)
  Mia Canzonieri’s solo about stepping into the professional world after years of training.

• A Leaf in the Wind (Encore Musical, Full Production).

Sunday, Sept. 14 at 2pm

• Settling the Score (Workshop – encore performance).

• Subconscious Control (Dance, Full Production)
  Jazlyn Tan & Lily Santana’s battle between body and mind.

• Consequences of the Castro (Short Play, Full Production)
  Bram Hartman’s moving piece on Billy Sipple and Harvey Milk.

• Reclaimed (Dance, Full Production)
  Bridget Ryan’s exploration of identity and return.

Sunday, Sept. 14 at 5pm

• a red light in a field of flowers (Dance, Full Production)
  Grace McCombs’s solo on relearning safety within one’s body.

• to be human (Dance, Workshop)
  Danna Creager’s developing anthology of LGBTQ+ stories told through movement.

• Hope (Dance, Full Production)
  Leticia Cirne’s contemporary ballet solo about breaking free from expectation.

• Second Chance (Short Play, Full Production)
  Audra Zook’s offbeat romance at a bus stop.

Sunday, Sept. 14 at 7pm

• Palindromes (Play, Workshop)
  Corliss Parker’s drama of a troubled veteran clashing with family and community over his safety, directed by David Adam Gill.